A great vegetarian alternative to the classic bolognese. A tasty, wholesome and satisfying meal that is healthy too, a definite winner!

Being entirely honest, I didn’t have particularly high hopes for this recipe. I have never made anything entirely based on lentils before (My use of lentils previously has always been more of a chuck-a-token-handful-of-lentils-into-a-stew-because-you-can’t-taste-them kind of job) but this recipe has completely changed my mind. It was really, really, really surprisingly good.

You can add whatever veggies you have hanging around to the sauce too.

The lentils do give the sauce a slightly grainy texture, so I thought my toddler might flat out refuse this but she, hubby and baby Caitlyn all LOVED it and wolfed down huge bowls full.

We’ll definitely be making this regularly. 250g of spaghetti serves two adults and two children and the recipe below yields two servings at that so you can freeze half of the bolognese or make it with 500g spaghetti for a bigger family / to save some for leftovers.

Ingredients:

Splash of olive oil

1 brown onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and grated

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Handful of mushrooms, chopped

Handful of chopped peppers

115g dried red split lentils

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes

500ml vegetable stock

250g dried spaghetti pasta (for 2 adults 2 kids) or 500g to use all the sauce.

Method:

1) Add a splash of olive oil to a large saucepan and put over a medium heat.

2) Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms, peppers and carrot and cook for about 4-5 minutes or unril the veg has softened.

3) Add the lentils, tin of tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil.

4) Turn heat down to low, and simmer, partially covered, for around 20 minutes or until the mixture has thickened.

5) Meanwhile cook your spaghetti according to packet instructions.

6) Combine spaghetti and sauce and serve sprinkled with parmesan if you wish.